Sixfields deal between Cobblers and borough council could be discussed at September cabinet meeting

That is according to Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas, who released a video this morning (July 29) commenting on the latest on a supposed deal between the club and the council that was discussed at a meeting last week.

Last month, the BBC reported that a £500,000 deal was close to being struck which would allow the football club to be given an option to buy borough council-owned land next to Sixfields, on condition the East Stand was finished. It would then see the council sharing the proceeds of any subsequent development with the club.

Those options were listed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that had been drawn up by one of the football club’s directors, David Bower, to discuss with the council. A segment of the draft MOU is now in the public domain as a result of a Freedom of Information request from the club’s supporters’ trust. However, an unredacted version of the MOU appeared to indicate a July 31 deadline was in place.

But Mr Thomas said this morning that it was September when a deal could potentially be struck with the authority.

He said: “We’ve put something on the table with various principles agreed – which is the completion of the East Stand, and the council has to get best value. We’ve all accepted that point and we’re trying to move forward on that basis. The council, as is their legal obligation, is getting further professional advice and we’re just waiting on that advice to come back and see how far we can proceed.

“The BBC report that we quoted on after being asked some questions said there was a July 31 date, which was definitely not confirmed by us or the council. There was a date we were working towards to get some agreements, but the real day we’ve agreed with the council is the September cabinet meeting. Whatever we agree will have to go to the cabinet, so we’re not worried about transparency because it has to go to a vote anyway at a full cabinet meeting. They have to produce a paper to go to that meeting from what I understand.”

The chairman’s comments come after a series of questions from leaders of opposition parties at last week’s full council meeting (July 20). These effectively questioned cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, Councillor Tim Hadland, on whether a deal had been struck.

Councillor Hadland responded: “The terms of any deal have not yet been agreed and discussions are ongoing. The council will comply with its duties to achieve best value for the taxpayers of the town.”

A police investigation is ongoing into how £10.25 million on taxpayers’ money was allegedly ‘misappropriated’ having been lent by the borough council to former Cobblers chairman David Cardoza in 2013. Since then, the East Stand has remained unfinished, and the council and club have been in discussion on how to proceed in developing the land.

The supporters’ trust released a statement yesterday (July 28), based on the findings from its Freedom of Information request, saying it had ‘reservations’ about the deal and called for ‘openness and transparency’ from the council when it came to the negotiations.

Its statement added: “The deal stipulates that NTFC must first complete the East Stand from its own coffers but the club’s owners will get up to £3 million paid back to them, together with other agreed development costs, from the gross sales proceeds of the associated development land. NBC and NTFC will then split the profits 50/50 after the agreed deductions.”

But Cobblers chairman Mr Thomas took issue with the trust’s statement, saying: “I’m not sure what they have seen in the Freedom of Information but that is fundamentally not the case. Whether you call it misinterpretation or whether you call it an actual misstatement to make us as owners look bad.”

The chairman added that the supporters’ trust ‘had an agenda’, saying: “It’s not really fair that they put out misinformation like that.”

But the supporters’ trust, in a tweet responding to Mr Thomas’ comments quoted by a local journalist, said: “From the Memorandum of Understanding in circulation, the club will pay for the stand completion but they will then get up to £3 million back as an expense before profits from the land deal are divided up. Is this not the case? We do hope it isn’t.”

The actual wording of the draft MOU – effectively an agreement between the council and the football club – has been unearthed by the trust’s FOI request, and reads as follows: “NBC and NTFC have agreed to work together (without cost to NBC) to try and bring forward the land for development to maximise value and to ensure the completion of the East Stand. To assist these aims NBC has agreed to grant NTFC an option to acquire the freehold interest in the land strictly subject to the following terms.

“The option shall be granted for a peppercorn, shall be for a period of five years and will be subject to a strict condition precedent that it cannot be exercised by NTFC until the East Stand has been completed to the agreed satisfaction of NTFC and NBC.

“The option exercise price shall be £500,000 which shall be paid by NTFC to NBC within six weeks of the option being exercised.

“The option shall provide that any profit made on a subsequent disposal of any part of the land shall be shared equally between NBC and NTFC.

“The grant by NBC of the option referred to does not obligate NBC (or any successor authority) to approve any submitted planning or other application and NTFC agrees that NBC reserves all rights and acknowledges its statutory duties to deal with any submitted application in accordance with all normal and appropriate standards.

“Profit shall be calculated on an open book basis after deducting the option price of £500,000; the cost of finishing the East Stand up to a maximum sum of £3,000,000; and any sums properly paid by way of compensation to Homes England or Northamptonshire County Council to allow the land to be developed to create maximum value.”

However, it is not yet clear whether the MOU was agreed or signed by either party, or whether the contents and proposals within it will end up in any final deal that may be struck between the authority and the football club.

Either way, it appears the next big step in this long drawn out saga could be revealed when September’s cabinet papers are published, a week before the September 9 meeting.